Who did the hard manual work, who was responsible for providing food and how did the civilization defend itself?
Egyptians were mainly farmers, but some had other jobs. This was the same with priest, scribes and governments officials. There were all sorts of craftsmen, which would work on jobs such as building the pyramids. This would require hundreds of skilled men, such as draughtsman to design the structure, masons to carve the stone, painters to decorate the walls, sculptors to carve the statues, and other craftsmen to design and make the interior.
As the Egyptians did not use money, they would be paid with food, drink, clothes, land and lodging. The men would sometimes go on strike if their payment did not turn up. The Egyptians were very hard workers they would sometimes work for eight days in a row, followed by two days off.
The ‘middle class’ mainly did manual work. These people were in charge of the development of buildings. These people were very skilled, there types of jobs were, Craftsmen, pottery makers, leatherworkers, sculptors, painters, weavers, jewellery makers, shoe makers and tailors. Groups of craftsmen often worked together in workshops.
Famers also did a lot of manual work, in Ancient Egypt. The farmers, who worked around land of the Pharaoh and nobles, were given housing, food and clothes in return. Farmers tended the fields, raised animals, looked after canals and reservoirs in good order, worked in the stone quarries, and built the royal monuments. Making sure everything around them was in good order. Farmers had to pay taxes, they could be as much as 60 percent of their yearly harvest. The famers grew barley to make bear, wheat for bread, vegetables such as onions and cucumbers, and flax to make into linen. They were a very important part to the society.
Slaves were a big part in the building of monuments, mines, quarries and other things. Usually the prisoners were captured in war. Slaves could be found in the households of the Pharaoh and nobles, working in mines and quarries, big constructions and also in temples.
Soldiers were responsible for the defense of Ancient Egypt. Many of the men were second sons, including those of the Pharaoh, they often chose to join the army. Soldiers were allowed to take the captures enemies belongings/goods. The soldiers were also rewarded with land for their service to the Ancient Egypt. If you became a soldier it was an opportunity for you to rise in the
Society. In peaceful times, when nothing was going on, the soldiers would help with the government projects, which could be anything from moving stone for a pyramid or digging a canal.
Scribes were very important in Ancient Egypt, this is because they were the only people who knew how to read and write. It would take years of training because the Egyptian hieroglyphics were very hard to learn, the scribes usually came from very wealthy families.
The Priest and Priestesses in Ancient Egypt were responsible for the temples and the religious ceremonies that were held. As Egypt was a very religious place, that worshiped lots of gods.